Digital Commons Network^™

Stochastic Partial Differential Equation Sis Epidemic Models: Modeling And Analysis, Nhu N. Nguyen, George Yin

Communications on Stochastic Analysis

No abstract provided.

Metabolic Flexibility Is Impaired In Response To Acute Exercise In The Young Offspring Of Mothers With Type 2 Diabetes, Timothy D. Allerton, Brian A. Irving, Guillaume Spielmann, Stefany Primeaux, Dennis Landin, Arnold Nelson, Neil M. Johannsen

Faculty Publications

We assessed metabolic flexibility (MF) via a mixed meal in a group of young, healthy participants with a positive family history of maternal type 2 diabetes (T2D) (FH+) and those without a family history of T2D (FH−) under three distinct conditions; baseline (BL; no previous exercise), 1-h post high intensity interval exercise (1H), and 48-h post exercise recovery. On separate visits, participants completed a single bout of high intensity interval exercise (HIIE) and repeated the MMTT 1-h (1H) and 48 h (48H) postexercise. FH+ participants were not able to suppress fat oxidation 1-h post exercise (1H) as effectively as FH− …

Precision Exercise Medicine: Understanding Exercise Response Variability, Robert Ross, Bret H. Goodpaster, Lauren G. Koch, Mark A. Sarzynski, Wendy M. Kohrt, Neil M. Johannsen, James S. Skinner, Alex Castro, Brian A. Irving, Robert C. Noland, Lauren M. Sparks, Guillaume Spielmann, Andrew G. Day, Werner Pitsch, William G. Hopkins, Claude Bouchard

Faculty Publications

There is evidence from human twin and family studies as well as mouse and rat selection experiments that there are considerable interindividual differences in the response of cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) and other cardiometabolic traits to a given exercise programme dose. We developed this consensus statement on exercise response variability following a symposium dedicated to this topic. There is strong evidence from both animal and human studies that exercise training doses lead to variable responses. A genetic component contributes to exercise training response variability. In this consensus statement, we (1) briefly review the literature on exercise response variability and the various …

Healthy Brown Rice-Based Extrudates Containing Straw Mushrooms: Effect Of Feed Moisture And Mushroom Powder Contents, Benjarat Tepsongkroh, Kamolwan Jangchud, Anuvat Jangchud, Chulaluck Charunuch, Witoon Prinyawiwatkul

Faculty Publications

This study was carried out to compare the nutritional values, total phenolic content (TPC), and antioxidant activity (AOA) of straw mushroom between egg-shaped (ME) and fully expanded pileus (MF) stages. Effects of three levels of feed moisture (FM: 13, 16, and 19%) and four levels of straw mushroom powder (MP: 0, 10, 15, and 20) were also investigated. It was set a constant barrel temperature profile due to temperature is not a factor for this study. The reseult showed that MF had higher nutritional values than ME. Increasing MP resulted in increased true density (TD), TPC, and AOA but decreased …

Thermal And Physico-Mechanical Characterizations Of Thromboresistant Polyurethane Films, Aaron C. Wilson, Shih Feng Chou, Roberto Lozano, Jonathan Y. Chen, Pierre F. Neuenschwander

Faculty Publications

Hemocompatibility remains a challenge for injectable and/or implantable medical devices, and thromboresistant coatings appear to be one of the most attractive methods to down-regulate the unwanted enzymatic reactions that promote the formation of blood clots. Among all polymeric materials, polyurethanes (PUs) are a class of biomaterials with excellent biocompatibility and bioinertness that are suitable for the use of thromboresistant coatings. In this work, we investigated the thermal and physico-mechanical behaviors of ester-based and ether-based PU films for potential uses in thromboresistant coatings. Our results show that poly(ester urethane) and poly(ether urethane) films exhibited characteristic peaks corresponding to their molecular configurations. …

Additive And Heterozygous (Dis)Advantage Gwas Models Reveal Candidate Genes Involved In The Genotypic Variation Of Maize Hybrids To Azospirillum Brasilense, Miriam Suzane Vidotti, Danilo Hottis Lyra, Júlia Silva Morosini, Ítalo Stefanine Correia Granato, Maria Carolina Quecine, João Lúcio De Azevedo, Roberto Fritsche-Neto

Faculty Publications

Maize genotypes can show different responsiveness to inoculation with Azospirillum brasilense and an intriguing issue is which genes of the plant are involved in the recognition and growth promotion by these Plant Growth-Promoting Bacteria (PGPB). We conducted Genome-Wide Association Studies (GWAS) using additive and heterozygous (dis)advantage models to find candidate genes for root and shoot traits under nitrogen (N) stress and N stress plus A. brasilense. A total of 52,215 Single Nucleotide Polymorphism (SNP) markers were used for GWAS analyses. For the six root traits with significant inoculation effect, the GWAS analyses revealed 25 significant SNPs for the N stress …

Residence Time Effects On Molybdenum Adsorption On Soils: Elucidation By Multi-Reaction Modeling And Xanes Analysis, Wenguang Sun, Amitava Roy, H. Magdi Selim

Faculty Publications

To investigate the influence of residence time on molybdenum [Mo(VI)] adsorption behavior in soil environments, kinetic batch experiments coupled with X-ray near-edge structure (XANES) spectroscopy were performed for a neutral-pH soil (Webster loam) and two acidic soils (Mahan sand and Windsor sand) at different time scales (1 day–1 year). Batch-type experiments indicated that retention of Mo(VI) was rate limited and typical biphasic for soils. Initial rapid retention was followed by a continued slow retention with increasing aging time for Mahan and Windsor soils. In contrast, the reaction for Webster soil was nearly complete after 8 h, reflecting difference in soil …

Residence Time Effects On Molybdenum Adsorption On Soils: Elucidation By Multi-Reaction Modeling And Xanes Analysis, Wenguang Sun, Amitava Roy, H. Magdi Selim

Faculty Publications

To investigate the influence of residence time on molybdenum [Mo(VI)] adsorption behavior in soil environments, kinetic batch experiments coupled with X-ray near-edge structure (XANES) spectroscopy were performed for a neutral-pH soil (Webster loam) and two acidic soils (Mahan sand and Windsor sand) at different time scales (1 day–1 year). Batch-type experiments indicated that retention of Mo(VI) was rate limited and typical biphasic for soils. Initial rapid retention was followed by a continued slow retention with increasing aging time for Mahan and Windsor soils. In contrast, the reaction for Webster soil was nearly complete after 8 h, reflecting difference in soil …

Universal Molecular Processor For Precision Medicine, Steve A. Soper, Francis Barany, Sunggook Park, Michael Murphy, Collin J. Mckinney, John William Efcavitch, Mateusz L. Hupert

College of Science Patents

The present invention is directed to a device that comprises a biomolecular processor and one or more nanotubes. Each biomolecular processor comprises a bioreactor chamber defined by a solid substrate, a plurality of spaced support structures within said bioreactor chamber and attached to the solid substrate, and one or more capture molecules immobilized to some or all of said plurality of spaced support structures, said one or more capture molecules suitable to bind to a portion of a target nucleic acid molecule in a sample. The device also comprises one or more nanotubes defined by the solid substrate and fluidically …

Addressing Racial Disparities In Parent Training Enrollment: An Examination Of Help-Seeking For Child Behavior Problems Among African American Mothers, Kasia Plessy

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The consideration of African American mothers’ mental health help-seeking attitudes and intentionsis important when developing culturally sensitive parent training programs and potentially help bridge a critical knowledge and service gap for this population. The purpose of this study is to examine the parental help-seeking for child externalizing behavior problems in order to delineate variables that might influence BPT enrollment among African American families. To address the lack of research considering cultural factors, this study examines the influence of racial group identification, cultural childrearing values, and mental health stigmatization on African American mothers’ problem recognition and willingness to engage in behavioral …

Histone H4 H75e Mutation Attenuates Global Genomic And Rad26-Independent Transcription-Coupled Nucleotide Excision Repair, Shisheng Li, Kathiresan Selvam, Sheikh Arafatur Rahman

Faculty Publications

Nucleotide excision repair (NER) consists of global genomic NER (GG-NER) and transcription coupled NER (TC-NER) subpathways. In eukaryotic cells, genomic DNA is wrapped around histone octamers (an H3-H4 tetramer and two H2A-H2B dimers) to form nucleosomes, which are well known to profoundly inhibit the access of NER proteins. Through unbiased screening of histone H4 residues in the nucleosomal LRS (loss of ribosomal DNA-silencing) domain, we identified 24 mutations that enhance or decrease UV sensitivity of Saccharomyces cerevisiae cells. The histone H4 H75E mutation, which is largely embedded in the nucleosome and interacts with histone H2B, significantly attenuates GG-NER and Rad26-independent …

Generation Of An Oncolytic Adenovirus Targeting The Cxcr4 And Cxcr7 Chemokine Receptors In Breast Cancer, Samia Melissa O'Bryan

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Breast cancer is the most diagnosed cancer in women under 60 and the second most diagnosed cancer in women over 60. While treatments for localized breast cancer are quite successful with high survival rates at 99%, advanced breast cancer remains hard to treat with a nearly 75% decrease in survival. Current treatments are inefficient at treating advanced stages of breast cancer, and thus, new therapies are sorely needed to address the complexity of advanced stage breast cancer. The ideal therapy would be capable of systemic administration, targets cancer cells and spares normal tissue. Oncolytic adenovirus is an ideal therapeutic vector …

Artificial Intelligence Based Wrist Fracture Classification, Dineep Thomas

LSU Master's Theses

The problem of predicting wrist fractures from X-rays using Artificial Intelligence (AI) methods is addressed. Wrist fractures are the most commonly misdiagnosed fractures because of the complex anatomical structure of the wrist bone which includes several different bones. This research provides a predictive solution to automate the process of wrist fracture classifications and outlines a visualization technique to identify the probable location of the fractured region on the X-rays. This thesis describes a deep learning based approach for wrist fracture classification. Deep convolutional neural network (CNN) based models have been used for wrist fracture classification by combining different optimization techniques. …

Occurrence Of Aflatoxin And Zearalenone In Concentrate Feeds And Milk Contamination With Aflatoxin M1 And Bacterial Pathogens In Malawi, Chunala Alexico Njombwa

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Multiple studies were conducted in Malawi to: 1) evaluate knowledge and perception of dairy farmers towards molds, mycotoxins and associated adverse effects; 2) evaluate dairy farmers’ knowledge and perception on milk contamination, proper milk handling practices and adverse health effects associated with raw milk consumption; 3) determine levels of aflatoxins and zearalenone (ZEN) in concentrate feedstuffs; 4) assess prevalence and levels of aflatoxin M₁(AFM₁) in raw milk, dietary exposure and estimate HCC risks to children and adults; 5) assess Salmonella and E. colicontamination in raw and processed milk from selected small scale farms and major …

Thylakoid Localized Bestrophin-Like Proteins Are Essential For The Co2 Concentrating Mechanism Of Chlamydomonas Reinhardtii, Ananya Mukherjee, Chun Sing Lau, Charlotte E. Walker, Ashwani K. Rai, Camille I. Prejean, Gary Yates, Thomas Emrich-Mills, Spencer G. Lemoine, David J. Vinyard, Luke C.M. Mackinder, James V. Moroney

Faculty Publications

© 2019 National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved. The green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii possesses a CO2 concentrating mechanism (CCM) that helps in successful acclimation to low CO2 conditions. Current models of the CCM postulate that a series of ion transporters bring HCO3− from outside the cell to the thylakoid lumen, where the carbonic anhydrase 3 (CAH3) dehydrates accumulated HCO3− to CO2, raising the CO2 concentration for Ribulose bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase (Rubisco). Previously, HCO3− transporters have been identified at both the plasma membrane and the chloroplast envelope, but the transporter thought to be on the thylakoid membrane has not been identified. …

Seasonal Variability Of Forces Controlling Sedimentation In The Sundarbans National Forest, Bangladesh, Carol A. Wilson, E. J. Bomer

Faculty Publications

Southwest Bangladesh, located on the Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna delta, is experiencing the impacts of sea level rise (SLR) due to processes at both the local and global scale. In particular, regional alterations of the hydrodynamic network, due to embankment construction, have drastically altered effective SLR, placing millions of inhabitants at risk of prolonged inundation, and threatening the world's largest continuous mangrove stand, the Sundarbans National Forest (SNF). In order to effectively employ landscape recovery solutions, an understanding of local sediment transport and deposition is critical. This field-based study investigates the sediment dynamics between the mangrove platform and tidal channels of the SNF …

Quantifying Impacts Of Climate Change On Species Interactions While Fostering Undergraduate Research Experiences Using The Monarch (Danaus Plexippus)- Milkweed (Asclepias Sp.) System, Matthew J. Faldyn

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Species interactions, specifically plant-insect interactions, are ubiquitous worldwide. Climate change will alter species interactions by affecting abiotic conditions, affecting species phenologies, interaction strengths, and physiological development. However, climate change impacts are often studied using individual species, with limited consideration quantifying the direct and indirect impacts of climate change species interactions. Using lab, field, and greenhouse experiments, I investigated how climate change will directly and indirectly affect species interactions while also fostering undergraduate research experiences using the monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus)- milkweed (Asclepias sp.) system.

In North America, a widely planted, invasive milkweed species, Asclepias curassavica, negatively …

Life Satisfaction And Healthcare Utilization Among Immigrants To The United States, Merritt Christian Rachel Harrelson

LSU Master's Theses

Previous research suggests a relationship between life satisfaction and healthcare utilization or HCU (Habibov & Afandi, 2016; Kim, Park, Sun, Smith, & Peterson, 2014). However, no study was found that examined this relationship among elderly American immigrants. The purpose of this study was to determine whether life satisfaction is linked to HCU for this population. The researcher of the current study applied binary logistic regression to data taken from the Health and Retirement Survey to determine whether changes in life satisfaction could be linked to variance in HCU across seven domains, including hospitalization, overnight nursing home stays, doctors visits, dentist …

Comparison Of The Kinetic Parameters Of Escherichia Coli 0157:H7, Listeria Monocytogenes And Salmonella Typhimurium Derived From The Baranyi And Huang Models In A Chemically Defined Minimal Medium, Jose Isidro Fuentes

LSU Master's Theses

Microbial growth can be characterized by parameters such as lag time, growth rate, and maximum population density at any specific point of time. Mathematical models that predict microbial growth of foodborne pathogens are increasingly used in the food industry as a viable alternative to traditional methods of microbial enumeration. The Baranyi model has been widely used as the primary model of choice by many authors because of its performance and accuracy. The most recently developed Huang model has been less implemented and few comparisons between the Baranyi and Huang models have been made when modeling pathogenic growth. For this research, …

Antecedents Of Apparel Subscription Box Choice: Understanding Predictors To Use Apparel Subscription Service, Md Abdullahil Kafi

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

With the rise of online shopping apparel merchandising and retailing has experienced tremendous reformation. In this regard, the online apparel subscription services have become an important trend in a global retailing context. In the U.S. apparel subscription service retailers reported that the market grew by more than 100 percent from 2013 to 2018 and it continues to grow steadily.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the antecedents of online apparel subscription services, and to better understand consumers’ attitudes towards online subscription service items in the context of the extended Unified Theory of Technology Acceptance and Usage (UTAUT2). This …

Effects Of Adrenergic Or A Combination Of Adrenergic And Opioid Drugs On Assessments Of Insulin Sensitivity In Mares, Lauren Kerrigan

LSU Master's Theses

Excitement is a problem when conducting endocrine tests on fractious horses. Epinephrine (EPI), for example, was shown to obliterate the insulin-induced decrease in blood glucose concentrations. Sedation may be a solution; however, perturbation of results may preclude useful information. The objectives of the four experiments presented herein were 1) to determine the effects of EPI on insulin response to glucose infusion (IR2G), 2) to assess the effects of the α-adrenergic sedative, detomidine (DET), alone or in combination with the opioid agonist, butorphanol (BUT), on IR2G and glucose response to insulin (GR2I), and 3) to assess the effects of BUT alone …

Iron-Sulfur Cluster Assembly; In Vivo Analysis Of The Methanogenic Suf System, Evan Dunkle

LSU Master's Theses

Iron-sulfur (Fe-S) clusters are among the most ancient and prevalent of all biological cofactors. Their assembly into associated proteins is a tightly regulated process with many organisms employing multiple cluster assembly pathways. Much is known about Fe-S cluster assembly in aerobic organisms such as Escherichia coli (E. coli) but little is known in regards to cluster assembly in more ancient organisms such as methanogens. Methanogens are members of the domain of Archaea and are defined by their ability to generate methane as a byproduct of their main energy generating pathway. Methanogens also have significantly higher Fe-S cluster content …

Giving Four-Year-Old Children A "Voice" Within The Comprehensive Evaluation Of Quality Teaching Practices, Mistie M. Perry

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Educational research has largely focused on the correlation between governmental entities and classroom pedagogy as policymakers develop more comprehensive evaluation systems that raise the expectations of teacher quality. However, some researchers in the field of early childhood suggest the measurement of teacher quality is largely a “mismatch between informant-based, retroactive methods” (Downer, Booren, Lima, Luckner, & Pianta, 2010, p. 5) as developmentally appropriate measurements of early childhood quality that include the perceptions of the children are few. To examine the potential for researchers to consider the inclusion of children’s perceptions within evaluation systems, this study examines the following area of …

The Effects Of Oil On Blue Crab And Periwinkle Snail Interactions: A Mesocosm Study, Elizabeth M. Robinson, Nancy N. Rabalais

Faculty Publications

We examined the sub-lethal effect of Macondo oil from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill on predator-prey interactions using blue crabs (Callinectes sapidus) and periwinkle snails (Littoraria irrorata). A 2 x 2 factorial mesocosm design determined the effect of oil (no oil vs. oil) and blue crabs (no blue crab predator vs. one blue crab predator) on periwinkle snail climbing and survival. Sixteen mesocosm tanks were used in the experiment, which were replicated three times. Each tank contained water, sand, and Spartina marsh stems. The sixteen tanks were divided between two, temperature-controlled chambers to separate oil treatments (no oil vs. oil). …

Factors Influencing Blue Carbon Accumulation Across A 32‐Year Chronosequence Of Created Coastal Marshes, Katherine M. Abbott, Tracy Elsey‐Quirk, Ronald D. Delaune

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Spatial Variability Of Mangrove Primary Productivity In The Neotropics, Rafaela De Albuquerque Ribeiro, André Scarlate Rovai, Robert R. Twilley, Edward Castañeda-Moya

Faculty Publications

Mangroves are considered one of the most productive ecosystems in the world with significant contributions as carbon sinks in the biosphere. Yet few attempts have been made to assess global patterns in mangrove net primary productivity, except for a few assumptions relating litterfall rates to variation in latitude. We combined geophysical and climatic variables to predict mangrove litterfall rates at continental scale. On a per-area basis, carbon flux in litterfall in the neotropics is estimated at 5 MgC·ha⁻¹·yr⁻¹, between 20% and 50% higher than previous estimates. Annual carbon fixed in mangrove litterfall in the neotropics is …

The Nopp140 Gene In Drosophila Melanogaster Displays Length Polymorphisms In Its Large Repetitive Second Exon, Patrick J. Dimario, Sonu Shrestha Baral

Faculty Publications

Nopp140, often called the nucleolar and Cajal body phosphoprotein (NOLC1), is an evolutionarily conserved chaperone for the transcription and processing of rRNA during ribosome subunit assembly. Metazoan Nopp140 contains an amino terminal LisH dimerization domain and a highly conserved carboxyl domain. A large central domain consists of alternating basic and acidic motifs of low sequence complexity. Orthologous versions of Nopp140 contain variable numbers of repeating basic-acidic units. While vertebrate Nopp140 genes use multiple exons to encode the central domain, the Nopp140 gene in Drosophila uses exclusively exon 2 to encode the central domain. Here, we define three overlapping repeat sequence …

Assessing The Efficiency Of Alternative Best Management Practices To Reduce Nonpoint Source Pollution In A Rural Watershed Located In Louisiana, Usa, Bijay K. Pokhrel, Krishna P. Paudel

Faculty Publications

© 2019 by the authors. We conducted biophysical simulations using MapShed to determine the effects of adopting best management practices (BMPs) to reduce nutrients and sediment pollution in a watershed dominated by poultry production in the Saline Bayou Watershed, Louisiana, USA. The reduction of three water pollutants, nitrogen, phosphorus, and sediment from adopting different BMPs were assessed using a linear programming model with the cost minimization objective. We considered three weather scenarios (dry, normal, and wet) and BMP parameter efficiencies obtained from linear regression models. Optimization results showed that nutrient management and agricultural land retirement reduced most of the phosphorus …

Synergistic Effects Of Temperature And Salinity On The Gene Expression And Physiology Of Crassostrea Virginica, H. R. Jones, K. M. Johnson, M. W. Kelly

Faculty Publications

© 2019 The Author(s). The eastern oyster, Crassostrea virginica, forms reefs that provide critical services to the surrounding ecosystem. These reefs are at risk from climate change, in part because altered rainfall patterns may amplify local fluctuations in salinity, impacting oyster recruitment, survival, and growth. As in other marine organisms, warming water temperatures might interact with these changes in salinity to synergistically influence oyster physiology. In this study, we used comparative transcriptomics, measurements of physiology, and a field assessment to investigate what phenotypic changes C. virginica uses to cope with combined temperature and salinity stress in the Gulf of Mexico. …

Light-Induced Release Of Nitric Oxide From The Nitric Oxide-Bound Cdgsh-Type [2fe–2s] Clusters In Mitochondrial Protein Miner2, Yiming Wang, Jeonghoon Lee, Huangen Ding

Faculty Publications

© 2019 Elsevier Inc. Human mitochondrial matrix protein Miner2 hosts two [2Fe–2S] clusters via two CDGSH (Cys-Asp-Gly-Ser-His) motifs. Unlike other iron-sulfur clusters in proteins, the reduced CDGSH-type [2Fe–2S] clusters in Miner2 are able to bind nitric oxide (NO) and form stable NO-bound [2Fe–2S] clusters without disruption of the clusters. Here we report that the NO-bound Miner2 [2Fe–2S] clusters can quickly release NO upon the visible light excitation. The UV–visible and Electron Paramagnetic Resonance (EPR) measurements show that the NO-bound Miner2 [2Fe–2S] clusters are converted to the reduced Miner2 [2Fe–2S] clusters upon the light excitation under anaerobic conditions, suggesting that NO …